Until recently it was unrealistic to consider importing pallet lumber when material was readily available at affordable prices from established local and regional sources. However, the crazy markets of the last couple of years have spurred some pallet companies to look abroad for potentially cheaper lumber sources. With low-grade lumber prices being at record highs in the U.S. and the supply situation looking very tight, concerns about having enough wood are common.

Cut-to-length pre-cut pallet lumber has been coming into the U.S. from South America in limited quantities as alternative sources to domestic lumber. Since the world steel shortage surfaced at the end of 2003, shipping containers and ocean-going freight vessels have become more difficult to find, and shipping costs have skyrocketed. This in turn has caused both logistics problems and increased costs for South American imports. Since international delivery costs have gone sharply higher and domestic lumber prices have leveled off for the moment, short term increases in imported lumber from outside North America may be limited.

Outsourcing lumber supply lines off-shore is not something that is done casually and cannot be done hastily. Most international lumber shipments known to me have been focused primarily in a few progressive wholesalers and CHEP.